Sunday, January 03, 2010

Fasting Advice

I've invited an Orthodox clerical friend to lunch on Tuesday, what should I give him to eat. He hesitated before accepting but is too well brought up to have said anything. It is only afterwards I realised that Tuesday is a fast day. So menu suggestions please.

From recollection the orthodox extend our typical rules on fasting by specifying that no fish, eggs or dairy products can be consumed (for some reason molluscs, squid and octopuses are vegetables for the purposes of the fasting laws!).

At this time of year a hearty bean casserole or lentil concoction would probably be most appreciated (failing that, beans on toast?).

I was trying to think why Tuesday should be a fast day in the Orthodox calendar and then I realised that it was the day before Epiphany.

I seem to remember that years ago we fasted on the days before major feasts. I particularly remember Christmas Eve and the day before the Feast of the Immaculate Conception but do not remember the day before Epiphany - perhaps this was the first to disappear.

Regarding food I suppose it will depend on whether the priest will be counting your meal as his main meal of the day!

Father, If you are pressed for time and want to do a “quickie” (takes about 5 mins to heat through) a couple of tins of clams in juice - if fast permits - throw into saucepan and mix with 1 or 2 dessert spoons of tomato and chilli sauce, and 3 dessert spoons of tomato pasta sauce according to taste (Loyd Grossman’s jars are good on both those), black pepper, pasta and plenty of crusty bread to mop up. Why not start off with a selection of olives and bread? You could finish off with summer pudding; all berries so should be ok. There are some decent veggie recipes on the Waitrose website, including a rather tasty nut roast. http://www.waitrose.com/food/cookingandrecipes/index.aspxAs mentioned previously, it depends how much he is permitted to eat. Don’t suppose you can alter the day now?Anyway, you must let us know what you decide to choose!A happy, blessed and peaceful 2010 to you and to all posters.

Reminds me of my first Great Lent in Orthodoxy, sitting with another couple of converts in a shell-shocked huddle over our black tea and olive bread after Divine Liturgy. A more-than-usually-pulchritudinous Greek girl came bounding over and kissed each of us on both cheeks. "What's up with you lot?" she asked, looking genuinely concerned.

"We don't know what to eat!"

Greeks and Slavs, of course, have loads of recipes for fasting seasons, which they take absolutely for granted. My friend was shocked and disgusted by tales of two weeks on peanut butter, baked potatoes and beans. "Why don't you just google some Orthodox sites for recipes?"

Like this one:

http://www.orthodox.net/recipes/lenten_main_dishes.html

On the other hand, a baked potato with baked beans is fine once in a while. Green salads, fruit, bowls of mixed nuts and raisins. One of these nice vegetarian Baxter's soups, stiffened with extra pinto beans, tomatoes, fresh basil and olives and served with oatcakes...

I'm all glutted out today on strong liquor and the body parts of beasts and fowls. I can hardly wait...

There's also the phenomenon of "dual calendarism" - a standing temptation for those of us able to attend both Greek and Russian services, according to which one eats consistently with the liturgy one has attended on that particular day. Curiously, the principle tends operate only in one direction, if you see what I mean...

Father,I'm a vegetarian of 15 years and really any Vegan recipes would be acceptable for Orthodox on fast days. During Lent I try to eat vegan recipes and on Fridays of the year I eat vegan since I don't give up meat.http://aggreen.net/food/recipes.html

In large saucepan, cook and stir bacon and onion until bacon is crisp and onion is tender. Stir in reserved clam liquor, the potatoes, water and celery. Cook uncovered until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Add clams, tomatoes and seasonings. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. 6 servings.

[Sheesh, the lack of oil or butter really kills choices!!!]

[You could use oysters instead and put little oyster crackers on the side.]

And then you could serve with stuffed rice tomato: [leave off cheese for friend -- I'd cover with foil]

Starter: GuacomoleMash ripe avocado with a fork, add finely diced tomatoes, onions or spring onions, a crushed clove of garlic, stir, squeeze in some lime juice (Nigella puts salt into the lime juice saying that thus is the salt more evenly distributed), shake a few drops of tobasco sauce over it, stir again, sprinkle over some shredded coriander leaves, serve with tortilla chips.

The no oil rule is making it a bit difficult - do vegetables sweated in olive oil count? If they do I can't think how to make vegetable and bean chilli (sweat the usual vegetables in oil with garlic, add drained beans, tin of tomatoes, oregano, if dried use less, say a sprig if fresh, some shakes of tobasco and served with rice.

Or whatabout baking a butternut squash? Take it out of the oven after about 30-40 mins, slice open the top and mash the pulp with some fresh thyme leaves (go easy on it though, say the leaves of one stalk) crushed garlic however you like it, baked and mild or raw and strong, a finely sliced chilli or some shakes of tobasco sauce and served with rice.

Desert could be fruit, say pineapple slices sprinkled with mint or lime sugar.

Father, according to wikipedia the eve of the Epiphany is meant to be a day of fasting:

"Paramony [the eve] is observed as a strict fast day, on which those faithful who are physically able, refrain from food until the first star is observed in the evening, when a meal with wine and oil may be taken."

Sounds as if it will have to be a late lunch:)

A very simple dish might be lentils (they don't have to be soaked beforehand) follow the instructions on the packet to cook the lentils - NB it's very important NOT to add salt while cooking them as they don't soften if you do.

Prepare whatever veg you've got. fry them up with some onions, garlic in olive oil. Mix in with the cooked lentils and season with salt, sprinkle of(cayenne)pepper, coriander - delish

A friend once told me that, when he first became Orthodox, he misinterpreted the fasting guidelnes so that, on say weekends, when it said "oil and wine permitted", he thought that this was all he was allowed to eat (with a little bread). His feats of fasting must have been quite extraordinary, almost on the level of the desert Fathers!

Father, I recall a funny story heard from a Russian Orthodox priest. There was a monastery in northern Russia with the abbot forcing his monks to be very strict in the observance of even minor Greek rules. During a particular fast day, many kinds of food were forbidden for the monks, but not wine. A rule said that monks may (or must?) drink 300 grams of wine. Becasuse it was the north or Russia, they had no wine (except valuable wine for used for liturgical purposes). So, the abbot made the monks to drink vodka. Exactly 300 gram, with a few cucumbers for a major a meal.

Sea food is not counted with fish among the forbidden foods on fast days. Here in Greece they say you cannot eat anything with red blood. Since olive oil and wine are also off the menu, I suggest a good vegetable or sea-food curry, or indeed any comination of those, using vegetablle oil. Unless your friend is extremely strict - which would be unusual if he is new calendar - he will probably not be averse to non wine-based alcohols, so a good few bottles of beer is a good choice to accompany curries.

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